Fair Housing Workshops for LGBT Community

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The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights is offering education workshops on fair housing to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals across the commonwealth this week.

The commission is working with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to present the workshops. HUD recently changed its policy, to prevent discrimination against LGBT people.

Kentucky does not have a similar state-wide plan, but three cities—Louisville, Lexington and Covington—have fairness ordinances that protect the LGBT community.

“Those programs that are governed by HUD are going to be protected for applicants and residents who are LGBT and their families,” said Victoria Stephens, spokeswoman for Kentucky’s Human Rights Commission.

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The new policy is internal to HUD and the LGBT community is not fully by federal law like other groups under the Civil Rights Act. It applies to HUD funded housing, programs, or applying to HUD-funded financing. The rule does not affect the U.S. or Kentucky Civil Rights acts and with respective fair housing acts.

Under the Civil Rights Act, 126 housing discrimination complaints were filed in Kentucky in 2010. Nationwide, almost half of the complaints filed for housing disputes come from one protected group: disability.

The largest protected class under the Kentucky Civil Rights act, which includes employment and public accommodations complaints, is race, said Stephens.

The workshops will take place this week at Danville, Murray and Morehead. Louisville will offer a fair housing workshop on Saturday.